Jaycee Dugard, Elizabeth Smart, Shawn Hornbeck… with each child's abduction, moms everywhere shudder and think, Could it happen to my kid? It’s a tragedy that’s all too familiar to John Walsh, host of “America’s Most Wanted.” In this exclusive Lifescript interview, Walsh gives advice on how to best protect your kids…

For many parents, Jaycee Dugard’s kidnapping is a nightmare turned real — both terrifying and arbitrary: An 11-year-old on her way to school, snatched by a stranger. Dugard was abducted and held captive for 18 years.

John Walsh, host of Fox’s long-running show “America’s Most Wanted” knows all too well the scar of losing a child.

In 1981, his 6-year-old son, Adam, was abducted from a Sears department store in Florida. Walsh’s story had a tragic ending — Adam was found murdered.

Since then, Walsh has become an outspoken hunter of violent offenders, particularly those who prey on children.

With help from “America’s Most Wanted” viewers, more than 1,000 criminals in 35 countries around the world have been captured.

In this Lifescript exclusive, Walsh talks about today’s predators, the death of his son and how parents can keep their kids safe:

The Jaycee Dugard story is horrifying for parents. How have predators changed over the years?Predators are more sophisticated. They watch the TV shows, the ‘Datelines.’ ["To Catch a Predator" series.] They know about the attempts to lure them in and the stings. But their compulsions are so strong that they keep doing it.

So they go to the Internet. It has become their private hunting ground. They can now sit in the safety of their house and try to [lure] children… of divorce, whose families have problems. Predators hope they’ll be able to meet them somewhere.

How else have predators become savvier? They know how to beat the system by not leaving DNA at the scene of the crimes.

We had a huge sting in Florida called Operation Orange Tree, which used software donated to every law enforcement agency in the state.

Well, 77 guys were caught in a four-day period. Fifteen of those were exchanging an online manual: how to sexually molest children under 5 and not get caught, how not to leave any evidence, how to make sure your crimes against them are undetectable.

It was disgusting! I looked at it and, as hardcore as I am, I said, ‘This is unbelievable.'

What should we do about predators once they’re caught?When cases like Jaycee Dugard come up, everybody questions [how it happened]. He [Phillip Garrido, Dugard’s alleged kidnapper] had a long history as a rapist and pedophile.

I haven’t figured out what to do with them yet. Nobody has. There’s no proven therapy to keep them from re-offending.

I’ve come to the conclusion – and I think it’s a humane conclusion – that they need to be separated from society.

And if we can’t afford to or don’t want to separate them, then at least let our women and children know who and where they are.

I’m all about education and awareness. These guys don’t hunt men, they hunt children and women, and they imprison and terrorize them.

What are the odds that what happened to Jaycee can happen to others? I say to people, ‘Be aware. Don’t assume it couldn’t happen to you.’

But I don’t believe in paranoia. For more than 20 years on “America’s Most Wanted,” I’ve never said to be scared to death of serial killers or that a child molester is next door.

Eighty percent of the crimes against children are by somebody they know, a trusted authority figure. It could be one of the 10,000 pedophile priests.

We just caught a rabbi who was a child psychologist and wanted in Israel and America.

It’s all about opening lines of communication and finding out whom your kids are spending time with. Where are they going? What are they doing?

How can parents keep their kids safe?The justice department maintains a national registry, lots of sheriffs do, and it’s a good way to start.

But really, you become aware of the only registered sex offenders in compliance.

So the 100,000 that are still out there – that marshals have felony warrants for and are praying they find before they re-offend – that’s a real problem.

The Internet is crucial. Your kids know how to work that computer better than you ever will.

I profile all kinds of Internet predators on “America’s Most Wanted.” They’re smarter than people think they are – they’re cunning. They could be 20 years old or 60.

What else should parents do?See who the sex offenders are in your neighborhood, so you can make your children aware of – at least – the level threes (convicted sex offenders).

I’m a great believer in child safety programs. The non-threatening, sound advice ones should be on every curriculum.

These programs should be mandatory for parents and kids to say, ‘This is a reality. This is part of American culture and I need to be better prepared.’

Still, there’s no foolproof mechanism to childproof your child. There never was.

You’ve been doing “America’s Most Wanted” for 23 years. How do you keep sane?It's tough to turn down hundreds of cases that we can't do – the fact that a creep's still out there and probably the only way he'll ever get caught is because of “America's Most Wanted” and its viewers.

I’ve always tried to refocus myself and say, ‘Who is the real victim in my life?’

It was Adam, my 6-year-old son. He was kidnapped and murdered, and his mom and I were left behind to try to change things. So as tough as it gets, you stay focused.

It's been a way for me to deal with my anger over the years.

Is it difficult to see the dark side of society?Yes, I see the worst of society, but every Saturday night millions of people watch “America’s Most Wanted.”

We get tens of hundreds of tips. People are literally saying, ‘I want to make a difference.’

There’s a lot of gratifying work for me to be the host of this show. It helps me deal with my pain and to give hope to other victims and parents of missing children out there.

Have the recovery of victims like Jaycee Dugard and Elizabeth Smart demonstrated the power of your show?One of the bonuses of “America’s Most Wanted” is — sometimes it’s a little tough to watch — I go after the worst of the worst.

And I’m usually doing it after they’ve hurt a woman or a child or done something.

We helped find Elizabeth Smart. That was probably the highlight of 20-something years on our show.

It’s been 30 years since your son’s death. How do you continue to cope?I have a wonderful life and have had three children since Adam was murdered.

I’m a sportsman. I ride horses. I try to do things to keep that healthy attitude.

I want to make sure Adam didn’t die in vain. My wife and I talk about it a lot, that I have a platform now and I can be a loud voice.

Then on Saturday nights, wonderful people around the world, not just Americans, say, ‘Hey, this wrong.’ And I try to keep focused on who the real victims are.

More child-safety informationCheck out these resourcesWalsh recommends:

America's Most Wanted, www.amw.com – “We have a lot of safety information on our Web site.”

www.missingkids.com – “The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has programs that were put together by people in Hollywood. These programs are free; you can get them from their Web site or 1-800-THE LOST.”

Are You Neglecting Your Child's Internet Safety?With tons of inappropriate content and predators on the Web, child Internet safety is important. Do you know how to best protect your kids from Internet dangers? Take this quiz to find out.

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